The Way of the Wizard!
by Ravena Felidae
Summary: Something has transported Shikamaru to the land of Fiore where he meets a quiet girl called Dia with an ancient power and Celestial Spirit, Ursa Major. In order to find a way home, Shikamaru is forced to become Ursa's mage and Dia's caretaker.Read on!
1. A Troublesome Problem!

**_R.F: Just a little note, Shikamaru is 16 in this fanfic so you can already guess what his clothes look like._**

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_**Chp 1: A troublesome problem!**_

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Shikamaru Nara slowly opened his eyes to a rocky ceiling. "Ugh, my head..." he groaned, sitting up. He felt a soft plop on his lap as he looked to see a folded damp handkerchief . The chunnin picked it up before looking around him. He was in a cave, a big one, and judging from the light outside it was evening time. He saw his sling bag placed in a corner along with his shoes. The bed he lay, was made out of an unfamiliar species of leaves to him but it felt comfortable to lie on. Next to him was a large pile of twigs and branches which Shikamaru guessed was firewood.

"Where am I?" muttered Shikamaru as he grabbed his shoe and put them on. He slowly stood up and walked out of the cave, only to find himself in an even more unfamiliar forest. "This is definitely not Suna, and its definitely not Konoha either...man.. this is such a drag..."

Suddenly he heard a small gasp followed by soft multiple thuds. Shikamaru quickly got into a fighting stance as he swung his body in the direction of the sound, just in time to see a small white figure scurry behind a large tree, leaving behind a small pile of colorful fruits.

"Huh?" went Shikamaru as he relaxed and took a step towards the small pile. The small figure poked its head out from behind the tree before disappearing once more. It was just a quick look but it was enough for Shikamaru to see that the figure was a young girl, around 12 years old, wearing a sleeveless white dress. Just as Shikamaru was about to get closer, he felt a huge presence running towards him.

"HORAAAAAA! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" a deep voice roared loudly.

Quickly, Shikamaru leaped into the air just in time to avoid getting hit. When he landed, imagine his shock when he saw a huge bear standing at least two meters tall on its hind legs. What was even more strange is that the bear wore armor. The bear turned around and roared loudly. "Just who do you think you are bullying my cub?" the bear demanded angrily.

"It's talking?" Shikamaru exclaimed out loud without thinking.

"Hmph! What a rude boy!" said the bear indignantly getting down on all fours. "I'll show you some manners!" it growled getting ready to charge.

Shikamaru quickly made a grab at his tanto and quickly took his stance. Before either one could make a move, the little girl from behind the tree quickly came out and jumped in front of the bear, shaking her head , the bear relaxed as it looked at the girl. "You mean he wasn't bullying you?" the bear asked.

From Shikamaru's position, he could see the girl nod her head and pat the bear's head. Although she didn't say a word, the bear seemed to understand her.

"Oh ok, Dia-chan, I'm sorry..." the bear as it trudged up to Shikamaru, who kept his tanto but still kept his guard up. Suddenly, the bear smiled as it held out a large paw. "Um, sorry about the attack, I'm a bit protective over the kid..."

The chunnin eyed the paw a little unsure but seeing the girl hugging the bear's leg, he relaxed once more and shook the paw. "It's okay...I guess, Mr Bear..."

"Oh please, call me Uncle, everyone I know does and this little girl is Dia-chan."

"Okay...uh...Uncle..." replied Shikamaru, still a little trying to get over the fact that a bear was talking to him, and he was talking back to it.

Uncle looked towards the sky and grunted a little. "It's getting dark come on inside, kid, it gets pretty cold out here," invited the bear as Dia collected the fruits once more and ran into the cave with Shikamaru and Uncle following behind.

After lighting a campfire , Dia took what looked like a large blue strawberry with yellow spots and held it out for Shikamaru. In the light of the fire, Shikamaru managed to get a proper look at the girl. She looked to be around 12 years, and had extremely long straight black hair that swept the floor with long bangs covering her eyes. Her small frame was clothed with a small white dress. He also noticed a large raspberry pink diamond shaped birth mark on her left shoulder. Lastly, around her neck was an oddly shaped silver key with a bear motif. Shikamaru eyed the strange fruit before looking at the girl. "For me?" he asked.

The girl, Dia, nodded shyly as she placed the fruit in the boy's hand and scurried to the right side of the bear who was busy helping himself to a large berry. "So kid, do you have a name?" asked Uncle as he broke a large chunk of the berry and gave it to Dia, who munched on it in delight.

"I'm Nara Shikamaru," replied the boy.

"I see, you know, you don't seem to be familiar with this place, you lost?"

Shikamaru gazed out the entrance and sighed. "I guess...I don't suppose you have any idea which direction is Konohagakure do you? Or perhaps Sunagakure?"

"Huh?" the bear said incredulously. "What in the world are you talking about? No such lands exists in Fiore!"

Now, it was Shikamaru's turn to look incredulous. "You're kidding right? Of course they- hold up, did you say Fiore? What's that?"

"Are you stupid or something, this whole country is Fiore, where are you from? Another world or something?"

This brought about a huge silence from Shikamaru as he tried to recall the events that happened before he blacked out. Multiple random flashes of him , Temari and a strange man with several staffs tied to his back. Suddenly there was a strange shining circle with unfamiliar symbols appeared and after that, everything was a blank. It didn't take long for someone like him to figure out the major situation he was in. "I don't know how it was possible but...I think I am..."replied Shikamaru in a stunned voice.

From the look on the boy's face, Uncle didn't question the boy's words. With a huge sigh he said, "So my hunch was right...I thought it was weird that your magical energy seemed different. Do you recall how you got here?"

Shikamaru closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. "Everything's a little fuzzy, but I think it all started when I was out on a mission with a friend from an allied village..."

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**_Flashback..._**

_**"Yeesh...can get it get any hotter out here, the heat's making this collaboration mission more of a drag than it already is...and to top it off, I'm stuck with you..." complained Shikamaru shielding his eyes from the desert sun.**_

_**"Urusai, Shikamaru, complaining only makes this worse," Temari snapped. **_

_**All of a sudden, the two ninja sensed a massive amount of energy coming at them. Quickly, the two jumped high into the air as a blast of blue energy blasted the sand, creating a huge dust cloud. Temari quickly opened her fan and blew the dust cloud away, revealing a mysterious cloaked figure carrying multiple oddly shaped staffs on his back. His face entirely covered by a green scarf with a metal plate bearing no symbol. **_

_**"Who the heck are you?" demanded Temari as she and Shikamaru braced themselves for battle.**_

_**Just then, the wind began to pick up as sand began to shift. "This is bad, run Shikamaru, we can't fight, there's a sand storm!" yelled Temari, quickly closing her fan and running away from the stranger.**_

_**Shikamaru gave the stranger a final glance before following Temari's lead. "Wait, what about that guy?" yelled Shikamaru as the winds began to pick up.**_

_**"Forget about him!" came the reply. "Keep up, this sandstorm seems to be unusually strong!" yelled Temari above the roaring winds. Visibility became difficult as Shikamaru saw Temari's figure disappear within the wall of sand. Suddenly, there was a loud gasp and a scream as blue circular flash could be seen through the sand.**_

_**"SHIKAMARU!" screamed the jonin as Temari felt herself flying towards the strange glowing circle. She tried to jam her fan into the sand to stop her self but to no avail.**_

_**"TEMARI!" she heard Shikamaru yell as she felt his hand grab hers. Temari instinctively gripped his hand tightly as her body bellowed in the unusually strong wind.**_

_**"PLEASE! DON'T LET GO!"yelled Temari, unable to open her eyes from all the sand.**_

_**Shikamaru gritted his teeth as he tried to pull Temari to the ground. All of sudden, he felt a presence behind him. Before he could react, he felt a strong push on his back, causing Shikamaru to lose his footing and go spiraling towards the circle with Temari. Somewhere in the confusion, the two lost their hold on each other's hands, separating.**_

_**"SHIKAMARU!/TEMARI!" they both cried out to each other before everything went blank.**_

* * *

"After that, everything was blank and when I woke up, here I was," explained Shikamaru, finishing his story.

Uncle folded his arms and closed his eyes, deep in thought. "That sounds pretty amazing, but I can tell from your eyes that you are not the type to lie, it seems to match Dia's story about you falling from the sky..."

_'I fell from the **sky?'**_ Shikamaru asked incredulously in his head before turning to Dia who lay curled up and asleep on Uncle's lap with a small woven blanket around her. "She doesn't talk much does she?" asked Shikamaru.

"Dia-chan? It's not really a matter of choice on her part."

Shikamaru looked at the bear in surprise. "She's mute?"

Uncle looked down sadly at the little girl and gently stroked her hair. "Selective mute. A doctor friend of mine said that it was most likely due to the trauma of rejection. She'll talk when the time is right, but Dia's fear of being rejected is making it impossible for her. The poor kid, she was abandoned right here in the middle of the forest nine years ago by a group of villagers to die. If I hadn't been passing by she wouldn't even have it through the first night..."

Shikamaru looked at Dia sympathetically. "Man, that's just evil...why would they do something like that?"

Uncle said nothing as he gently carried Dia to a bed of leaves. He then sat down with his back to Shikamaru as he continued to stroke Dia's hair. "It's because of her powers..."

"Her powers?" echoed the chunnin curiously.

"Dia is no ordinary child. She is gifted with an ancient form of magic called Chimera Magic."

Shikamaru looked at the bear in disbelief. "Hold on, did you just say magic?"

The bear nodded, not once glancing at Shikamaru. "IN this world, there are people who are able to use magic known as wizards. Some forms of Magic are common, but in some cases rare, even dangerous. Dia-chan here was unfortunate enough to be born with such magic."

"Earlier on, you said she had Chimera magic, what's that?"

"It's an ancient and rare form of Magic, an ability that is not learned but born with. Whoever is born with Chimera Magic has the ability to transform into a chimera of animals in one go. However, the user is prone to losing control if he or she transform over the limit of animals their used to. It's a fearsome ability to face, even to the most skilled wizards," explained Uncle as he finally the girl and sat at the fire once again facing Shikamaru.

"Listen, it's late you should sleep," said Uncle as he lay down and proceeded to snore loudly as the bear fell asleep instantly.

Shikamaru stared the great bear with a dead panned look. "There's no way I can sleep with that troublesome noise..." he muttered as his stomach grumbled. Looking at the strange large yellow spotted, blue strawberry in his hand once again, Shikamaru looked at it skeptically. "Oh what the heck..." he said, shrugging and eating the berry, which surprisingly tasted really good. It wasn't long before Shikamaru too, fell asleep as the fire which illuminated the cave died out slowly.

* * *

The morning came abruptly quick as Shikamaru heard a loud growling. The chunnin quickly got up to see Uncle Bear up on his feet, anticipating for something. "Shikamaru, I want you to grab Dia and run!"

"What, why?" asked Shikamaru, clearly confused at the situation. He looked over to see Dia-chan, who also seemed to sense something and was looking very afraid.

"There is a group of dangerous wizards who have been trying to hunt me for some time now, it seems that they found me again. I want Dia-chan out of this! Now, grab her and run! There's a secret passage at the end of this cave, it will lead to a nearby village, GO!"

"Uncle-!" Shikamaru began to say.

"I SAID GO!" roared Uncle fiercely.

Quickly, Shikamaru grabbed Dia and ran into the shadows, but instead of going forward he stopped and crouched down, signaling to Dia not to move. The little girl looked at Shikamaru unsurely but nodded just the same. From the concealment of the shadows, Shikamaru heard the thundering of feet just outside the cave, from which he guessed were seven men. From where he was he saw Uncle trudge out from to meet them.

* * *

(Outside the cave)

"URSA MAJOR! WE, THE GREAT WIZARD BROTHERS HAVE COME TO CLAIM YOUR KEY!" announced a large tan muscled man with spiky green hair carrying a giant axe on his shoulder. Behind him were several other mean looking brutes, who looked pretty darn cocky.

Uncle, or rather Ursa Major, simply yawned as he sat down and scratched his belly. "All this fuss so early in the morning...alright, let's just get this over with..." he said rearing up to his full height.

"GET HIM!" yelled the leader as he and his grouped charged forward.

Suddenly, Ursa roared loudly as magical circles appeared on his paws. Shikamaru gasped a little as he saw Ursa's claws grew long and sharp as the bear tore through the group with amazing agility. There was a loud clang Ursa's claws connected with the Leader's axe. "Your strength is indeed impressive as the rumors say, I will force you to give up your key!"

"Hmph! Don't get so cocky, only a proper wizard will be allowed to hold my key!" roared Ursa as he forced the leader back.

The man quickly used his axe to stop himself from sliding gave the bear a cocky look. "NOW!" he commanded.

Suddenly, magical circles appeared at Ursa's feet. Before the bear could react, heavy chains shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around the bear, binding him to the ground.

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_"Oh no!_" gasped Shikamaru from his hiding spot. Dia gasped as well seeing Ursa getting slammed to the ground bound by chains. Shikamaru gritted his teeth as he placed a hand on Dia's head, causing the girl to look up at him.

_"Dia, stay hidden. I'm going to help Uncle!"_ whispered the Chunnin as he began to inch his way closer to the entrance of the cave.

* * *

"We did it! We caught him boss!" declared one of the men excitedly while he and the other men climbed on the struggling Ursa to pin him down further.

"Good, hold him down!" ordered the leader as he walked to the bear and stepped on Ursa's head . Ursa growled loudly as the man pressed his head down with his foot. "So? Are you going to tell me where you hid your key or what?"

Ursa gritted his teeth as he glanced up at the man. "Kiss my furry ass, Jerk Off..." he replied pissing the man off.

"Fine, if that's how you're going to be, them I'm going to make you tell me!" roared the man as he raised his large foot, intending to stomp down harder when suddenly...

_"Kage Nui no Jutsu!"_ yelled a new voice as black tendrils of shadows shot out of the cave and whipped the man away from Ursa along with the rest of the group.

"What the hell was that?" exclaimed the Leader as he hit the ground rolling.

"You guys are being really troublesome, you know? Making so much noise in the morning..." he heard someone complain as he saw a young man with black spiky hair emerge from the cave and stood in front of Ursa facing them with his hands in his pockets.

"Shi-shikamaru! What are you doing here? Where's Dia?" demanded Ursa, a little angry but grateful at the same time.

"You can relax Uncle, she's safe," replied Shikamaru, putting his hands together, forming the Rat seal. _"Kagemane no Jutsu!_" yelled the young man.

Ursa gaped in surprise when he saw Shikamaru's shadow grow out towards one of the men who didn't notice until it was too late.

"Darn kid..." growled the leader standing up and brandished his axe. "Beat it, you're in my way!"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, giving a cocky smile as he raised his hands above his head as if he was holding a weapon, an action which confused Ursa and the leader until one of the men exclaimed, "Oi! What are you doing?"

Suddenly, one of the men who was carrying a mace began to attack the men in the group, taking them down easily. The guy suddenly turned and began to attack the leader as well. "HEY! WHAT THE HELL YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" yelled the Leader who blocked with his axe.

"It's not me Boss! I can't control my body!" protested the man. In the midst of the confusion, the two fighting failed to see Shikamaru who was doing the exact same movements as the Mace guy. Ursa looked on in shock at seeing the control Shikamaru had.

"Don't SCREW WITH ME!" yelled Leader as he swung his axe. _**SHING!**_ Blood flew as the man screamed in pain. Ursa widened his eyes when he saw what had happened. Shikamaru was so shocked that he dropped his jutsu immediately.

There was a loud thud as the Mace guy fell to the ground and passed out from the shock. Leader looked at his arm to see a strange hybrid creature clamping down on his arm making him drop the axe. The creature had long black hair and the white face of a wolf. It's ears and paws were somewhat that of a cat's. Finally, it's legs, strong and lean, were that of a rabbit's. The creature's claws and teeth were buried deeply into the Leader's arm, which was bleeding profusely. The creature had appeared out of nowhere, it had appeared so quickly that nobody noticed until it was too late. Suddenly, Shikamaru spotted a mark on the creature's left shoulder, a pink Diamond.

"N-no way...Dia?" said Shikamaru in shock.

"She's transformed..." he heard Ursa say. Shikamaru turned his head to look at Ursa who had managed to free himself during the confusion.

"What the hell is this thing? Get OFF!" yelled the man, flailing his arm about.

Dia snarled and dug her claws deeper, causing more blood to flow out. Suddenly, the man stretched out his other hand. _"Re-equip!"_ he yelled, as a green magic circle appeared. Leader's hand disappeared into the circle and withdrew a dagger from the air, much to the astonishment of Shikamaru. But the astonishment didn't last long when Ursa roared and quickly made a dash forward, taking the man down before he could make use of the dagger. It was only then Dia let go, somersaulting through the air before landing next to Shikamaru. Dia glowed a reddish-pink before reverting back to her original form, slowly wiping the man's blood that dripped from her mouth, staining her white dress. Shikamaru stared in disbelief at the girl who seemed to almost...relish having blood on her, which totally contrasted against the shy Dia from yesterday.

"YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU TRY TO HURT MY CUB!" roared Ursa as he slashed continuously at Leader, who performed a Re-Equip and summoned a large sword and shield to block the bear's attacks.

Suddenly, Shikamaru saw something bright flash in the forest trees. Not taking any chances, Shikamaru quickly flung a kunai in that direction. No sooner did it disappear into the trees, a black figure popped out and landed on the ground in a rush of wind that blew up dirt from the ground. The chunnin and Dia quickly covered their faces to shield themselves from the dust. "Ara, it seems I was found out," said a familiar sounding female voice.

Shikamaru eyes popped open as he quickly looked at the newcomer. The first thing he saw was sandy blond hair tied into long twin-tails followed by a pair of confident dark green eyes. She wore a purplish-blue skin tight top under a loose black sleeveless dress tied in the middle with a red ribbon. But it was when he saw the woman's giant black fan by her side did recognition fill his eyes. "T-Temari?"

The woman looked at Shikamaru weirdly. "Hey? How did you know my nickname? You stalking me or somethin'?" demanded the woman.

_'No. It's not her...but the resemblance is amazing!'_ thought Shikamaru in surprise as he shook his head. "Sorry about that lady. You just happen to really resemble a friend of mine," he explained, slipping his hands into his pockets out of habit.

The woman frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "LADY? Hmph, F-Y-I, I happen to 16!" she announced haughtily. Suddenly, she began to stare very hard at Shikamaru. In a flash, she appeared in front of the chunnin before he could react and leaned in really close to Shikamaru's face, much to his surprise. "Say...your name wouldn't happen to Kageyama would it?"

"U-um...no?" replied Shikamaru shifting away uneasily from the girl. _'No way in hell would Temari act like this! She's definitely a look alike!'_

The girl looked a little disappointed but smiled instead. "Oh ok, you resemble him too, guess that makes us even_, _huh?"

Shikamaru stared in disbelief at the girl's casualness, but he wasn't letting his guard down any time soon. He slowly shifted back some more, making sure Dia was behind him. He felt the little girl clutch the bottom of his flack jacket tightly. The girl didn't seem to notice this as she smiled and tilted her head at him. "I'm Tamara Mustela Ricardo a.k.a Tamuri! Oh, but you knew that already huh, stalker-dude?" she introduced herself cheerfully.

Shikamaru sweat dropped heavily. "My name is not Stalker-dude, its Nara Shikamaru, remember it!"

"Hai-hai!"came the reply.

"TAMURI! QUIT FOOLIN' AROUND AND GRAB THE GIRL! SHE HAS THE KEY AROUND HER NECK!" yelled the leader as he blocked another one of Ursa's blows before striking back.

"SHIKAMARU! DON'T LET THEM GET DIA **OR** THE KEY! GUARD THEM WITH YOUR LIFE! NOW DO AS I TOLD YOU BEFORE AND _**RUN **_GODDAMMIT!" roared Ursa.

Shikamaru scowled before nodding quickly scooping Dia in his arms and attempted to make a dash for the cave, when a gust of wind literally blew him off his feet, causing him to fall hard. The teen quickly manipulated his body so that he landed on his back, therefore cushioning Dia with his body.

"Hey now! Running away from Tamuri is a big No-No, you know?" mocked the girl wagging her finger at Shikamaru."So if you would, hand over the kid!"

"Sorry chick, but I don't listen to troublesome women like you," retorted Shikamaru calmly, as he gripped Dia tightly and threw down a few smoke bombs which exploded on impact.

Tamuri coughed a little before opening her giant black fan and swinging it hard, creating a huge gust of wind that blew all the smoke away. "HEY! Where'd he go?"

_"Kage Nui no Jutsu!"_ exclaimed the said person's voice as tendrils of shadows shot out from the ground and knocked the giant fan from Tamuri's hand before wrapping around the girl tightly, forcing her to her knees.

"EWW! What is this?" squealed Tamari as she tried to struggle against her bonds.

Shikamaru then appeared in front of her, carrying Dia in one arm. "Forget it, no one can escape my shadows once they're caught."

"Shadow Magic? I knew it! You **are** Kageyama, you lying Pineapple! You Perv! Stalker! Cheat! Two-Timer! One-Night Stand!" went Tamuri as she hurled insults continuously at Shikamaru, much to his annoyance.

_'Yep, definitely not Temari...'_thought Shikamaru in disdain. "For the last time, my name is Shikamaru and I don't use magic or whatever!"

Tamuri frowned and blew a raspberry at Shikamaru before suddenly smiling slyly. Suddenly, three medium sized light blue magic circles appeared behind her head._ "Wind Weasels: Kama, Mai, Tachi!"_ she yelled.

Before Shikamaru's instincts could kick in, three silver streams of wind came blasting out at Shikamaru from each circle. Two managed to barrel him straight in the stomach, while the last one wrapped around Dia and held her in the air. Shikamaru collapsed and clutched his gut, forcing him to release his jutsu. Tamuri laughed jubilantly as she stood up with her fan. The streams of silver wind came to her side with Dia in tow and dispelled revealing three floating silver colored weasels with golden eyes. The first one wore a small yellow helmet and black vest and carried a small iron hammer in its paws. The second one appeared to be female, judging by the red ribbon tied around its neck, and carried a small scythe. The third one that held Dia wore small round glasses on its snout and...

_'Is that a stethoscope?' _Shikamaru asked in disbelief mentally.

"These three cuties happen to be my favorites out of my Wind Weasels," said Tamuri, smiling as she affectionately stroked the female weasel on the head."Allow me to introduce you to the Silver-Wind Siblings."

"This is Kama the Hammer," she said pointing to the hammer weasel.

"Mai the Slasher." Points to the girl weasel.

"And this one here is Tachi the Healer." Points to the weasel holding Dia.

Shikamaru smirked as he slowly stood up. "Heh, cute. But I'm afraid while you were busy with your little introductions, I had you captured," he said lifting his hand.

Much to Tamuri's surprise, she began to mirror his movements. When he took a few steps back so did she. "_Kage mane no jutsu , Capture Successful_,"said Shikamaru.

"KYAAAAAAAAAA! YOU'RE DOING SOMETHING WEIRD AGAIN! PAPA! KAGEYAMA'S GONNA TAKE AWAY MY INNOCENCE!" screamed Tamuri in a shrill voice making the chunnin cringe while covering his ears, which of course, Tamuri copied involuntarily.

"NANI?" screamed the Leader in disbelief.

"You're**_ Papa_**?" exclaimed Ursa and Shikamaru both doing double takes while Dia tilted her head with a question mark hovering above her.

"YOU BASTARD KAGEYAMA! FIRST YOU BREAK MY DAUGHTER'S HEART AND NOW YOU WANT HER CHASTITY? DIE!" screamed Leader, breaking away from his battle with the bear and coming at a bewildered Shikamaru with the rage only a doting father would have.

Shikamaru quickly jumped away, once more being forced to release Tamuri as he began dodging for his life with Leader swinging a giant mace at him. Tamuri filed her fingernails and blew on them nonchalantly the whole time while Dia and the Silver-wind Siblings sweat-dropped at the situation. "Now that Kageyama's taken care off, I'll be taking your key now little girl..." said Tamuri as she began to reach for Dia's key, when the girl suddenly growled and snapped at her, making Tamuri draw back her hand instinctively.

A forked tongue slid in and out of Dia's mouth as her face morphed into that of a white snake. The transformation gradually spread to the rest of her body as Dia's legs fused together followed by a break-out of pure white scales. Her new form allowed Dia to slide out from Tachi the Weasel's grasp and sink to the ground in the form of a large white cobra with black markings under its hood. Tamuri and her Wind Weasels squeaked loudly in fear. "KYAAAAAA! A SNAKE! I HATE SNAKES!" screamed Tamuri as she began running all over the place with Dia slithering after her, shooting purple poison from her mouth.

Ursa stood on the sidelines and watched the two go past him repeatedly. Meanwhile, Shikamaru had taken out his trench knives and were using them to defend himself against a katana that was summoned by Leader. Suddenly, the Leader jabbed the sword forward, successfully impaling Shikamaru, or so he thought. The boy yelled in pain before exploding into smoke, revealing a wooden stump wear Shikamaru was once standing. "What the hell?" exclaimed the Leader failing to notice the pieces of paper tags plastered behind.

_"Katsu!"_ **(Explode)** he heard the boy yell from afar.

Before Leader could react, the tags and the log exploded, resulting in a huge blast. Rubble and dust flew everywhere, clouding everyone's vision. "Kyaaa!" screamed Tamuri as she shielded her eyes from the smoke.

When the air finally cleared up, Shikamaru, Ursa and Dia were no where to be seen. All that was left was a twitching black mess of Leader, who surprisingly wasn't dead considering how close he had been to the explosion. "PAPA, DON'T DIE ON ME!" screamed Tamuri dramatically as she ran up to her father.

Meanwhile, the three were already deep inside the cave running away from the scene as fast as they can.

* * *

_**R.F: And the first chapter is up. I'm open to questions and suggestions you might have so don't hold back! Till next time, Ja ne!**_


	2. Me, A Wizard?

**_R.F.: Dear readers, thanks to the help of a certain author, I have rewritten the last part of this chapter, ENJOY!_**

* * *

**_Chp 2: Me? A Wizard?  
_**

Using the explosion as a cover, Shikamaru (carrying Dia bridal style) and Ursa quickly ran away as fast as they could with the bear in the lead. "Where are we going?" asked Shikamaru once they were far away from the place and stopped to catch their breath.

"To my friend's," replied Ursa simply before raising a paw. "Oh yeah, I'm sorry kid."

Shikamaru looked at Ursa confused he set Dia down. "For what?"

"This." **_WHAM! _**and everything went black.**_  
_**

* * *

_"Stupid talking, overgrown teddy bear... Did he really have to bring that human into my hou__se__?..." _muttered a grouchy old woman's voice. _"With that strength of his, I'm surprised he didn't knocked the boy's head off his shoulders!"_

Shikamaru groaned a bit as got up slowly clutching his throbbing head. "Oww..."

"I suggest you lie down again young man, that stupid bear left quite a sizable mark on that forehead of yours," he heard an old woman say sternly.

Shikamaru turned his head, trying to focus his vision which was blurry from giddiness. The first thing he saw was bright pink hair and a lot of red, so naturally his thoughts landed on a certain kunoichi from his home world.

"Sa..kura-san?..." he asked un-surely when he hesitated. _'No.. this voice sounds too old...'_ the boy told himself as his vision finally focused, allowing him a good look at his caretaker. Shikamaru's eyes involuntarily widened in surprise. _'And she **looks** too old as well!'_

"Um, excuse me ma'am... but where am I?"

The pink haired woman emptied a plastic bag of water into a bucket. "You happen to be in my home, human and my name is Porlyusica," she replied, sounding somewhat incredibly annoyed.

Shikamaru then realized that he was in a nice comfy bed. His gear, shirt and flack jacket had been removed and were hanging on a coat rack near a green wooden door, leaving Shikamaru clad in only his pants. He found his body had been patched and bandaged a little where he had sustained wounds. Just then the door opened and in peeked Dia's head shyly. When she saw that Shikamaru was awake Dia let out a small gasp of happiness as she ran to the boy's side and threw her arms around his neck, tackling Shikamaru to the bed, much to his bewilderment. Shikamaru awkwardly patted Dia on the head as he sat up again, this time with the little girl on his lap.

Porlyusica seemed to smile just a teeny bit before dropping it. "It seems she has gotten attached to you, human..." she noted. "It took me a while for me to get her to leave the room and change out of her bloody garments..."

As if on cue, Dia jumped of Shikamaru's lap stood before him wearing a knee-length black dress with a white collar and cuffs decorated with thin red ribbons. The girl also wore long white socks and brown mary-janes while her silver key hung around her neck. Dia picked up her skirt a little and twirled once before curtsying and smiling at Shikamaru with an expectant look on her face, although her eyes were still curtained by her bangs. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile at Dia. "Looks good on you," he commented making the little girl smile even more before he turned to Porlyusica. "If you don't mind me asking, where's Uncle?"

"If you mean Ursa, he's not here right now," replied the woman when suddenly Dia's key glowed and a burst of light appeared in the room, revealing Ursa, causing Shikamaru to stare in shock. "I spoke too soon..." she muttered.

Dia gasped happily once more as she threw herself at the bear happily. Ursa smiled as well as he lifted Dia into the air. "Yes I'm back Dia-chan! What a lovely dress you have on!"

Porlyusica folded her arms. "You're lucky my old dress fits her..."

Shikamaru glanced at Dia's key and then at Ursa. "What are you?..Is what I want to ask but firstly, why'd the heck you knock me out for Uncle?"

Ursa looked at the boy sheepishly while he sat down with Dia hanging onto his arm like a koala. "Heh, sorry about that. Porlyusica here doesn't really like having visitors over so she'd prefer it if less people knew where her house was," explained the bear jabbing a claw at the grouchy lady who looked even more annoyed at the bear. "As for the other question-"

"He's a Celestial Spirit, The Great Bear, Ursa Major," interrupted the woman out of the blue.

Now it was Ursa's turn to be annoyed. "Uh, right... anyway, like she said, I'm a Celestial Spirit and like you, I don't exactly come from this world. I exist in an alternate dimension known as the Celestial Spirit World where others like me exists."

The boy nodded slowly trying to understand the bear while in his head he was imagining a world full of talking bears. "Uh-huh...so how come you're here?"

"I was getting to that. All Celestial Spirits are able to actively travel to this world through special gates unique to each spirit. However, this can only be done when they get summoned through these gates and to do that a wizard, called a Celestial Spirit wizard must be in possession of the Spirit's Gate key, such as this," explained Ursa as Dia handed the Silver Key around her neck to Shikamaru. "There are commonly two kind of keys, Gold and Silver, like mine. But while there are many different Silver Keys, there are only 12 Golden Keys."

"Ok, but I'm pretty sure Dia-chan didn't summon you. So how'd you get here?"

"It's not exactly common, but if a spirit is strong enough they can force open their own gates," explained Porlyusica sitting in a chair nearby. "Ursa here happens to be one them. While Silver Keys are not as sought after by Celestial Spirit wizards than Gold keys, there are a few exceptions. Ursa Major is a Celestial Spirit that is incredibly strong in battle prowess, making his key sought after by those who do not posses the Golden Keys."

Shikamaru nodded some more, starting to understand. "So that explains why that guy wanted your key..."

"Exactly," said Ursa, growling a little. "But I happen to be a very picky Spirit. I have yet to find someone suitable enough to use my key. Dia-chan here helps to safe keep my key until I do so. But after what happen this morning I've made my decision."

_'Why don't I like where this is going?'_Shikamaru asked himself as he looked down at the key in his hand.

"Look kid, you say you want to find a way back to your world right?"

The boy looked up at the bear seriously. "Yeah."

"Well here's my proposition. I will help you find a way back, but in exchange you **_must_** become my Celestial Spirit Wizard."

Shikamaru looked at the bear incredulously and quickly handed the key back to Dia. "_What?_ **Me**? Oh no! Oh no-no-no-no-no...! No WAY!" refused Shikamaru fervently. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a ninja, not a wizard! I don't know jack about magic!"

"Actually if you think about it, there's really not much of a difference..." countered Ursa, scratching his belly. "Look, you wanna go home or not?"

The boy stayed silent and thought about it for a while. "Ok...fine. Say I become your wizard, then what?"

"I have a friend, Markarov, who might be able to help. He lives in the town of Magnolia, a place not too far from here," answered Porlyusica once more.

Shikamaru became silent once more, putting more thought into. "Alright, I'll do it..."

Ursa smiled while Dia clapped excitedly. As for Porlyusica...she got bored and left the room 10 minutes ago. Shikamaru sighed and propped his head on his knee. _'Why me?...'_ "Ok so what should I do?"

"It's quite simple really, we just need to form a contract and we're all done."

"A contract?"

"Yep. Since I'm a Battle-type spirit you can summon anytime you need me. Are we good?" asked Ursa holding out his paw to Shikamaru.

"Um...ok..."replied the boy skeptically shaking Ursa's paw. "So how do we make the contract?"

"We just did."

Shikamaru looked at the bear extremely confused."I'm sorry...what?"

"The agreement we just had about summoning me. That was the contract," replied the bear.

The boy looked at the bear in stunned silence. "...That was it?..."

"Yeah, what were you expecting, some light show?"

"Sort off... " replied Shikamaru sweat dropping before turning his head away. _'Truth be told, I was expecting a blood oath...'_ he thought bluntly as he averted his gaze while Dia tilted her head at him curiously.

"Look just remember, when you want to summon me, just stick my key out in the air and say 'Gate of the Great Bear, I open thee!' then you yell out my name," explained Ursa sighing heavily to which Shikamaru nodded lazily.

* * *

After a final check from Porlyusica, Shikamaru was given the all clear ( and a basket of apples to eat) for him to go. After thanking her, Shikamaru and Dia their way to Magnolia Town as they rode on Ursa's back to make up for knocking Shikamaru out earlier. As the group walked through the forest, the three of them heard a loud explosion followed a rustle in the trees. Shikamaru quickly turned his head just in time to see a shadow disappear from sight.

"What in the world was that?" asked Ursa as Shikamaru and Dia quickly got off.

"I don't know. I'll go check it out, Uncle you better go back to replenish your strength," replied Shikamaru placing his hand in his pocket.

Ursa nodded in agreement. "I'll leave it to you kid," said the bear as he disappeared in a shimmer of lights.

Shikamaru quickly placed Ursa's key in his flack jacket before walking in the direction of the explosion with Dia clinging to the bottom of his shirt. It didn't take long for them to see a group of people. Signaling for Dia to be quiet, the two ducked behind a tree and peeked out to see 5 guys standing. The first two were a pair of twins, followed by a weird giant chicken of some sort in overalls, a depressed looking guy with a floating orb and the last guy looked like a goblin of some sort. In the center of their circle was a fire place with a shaking...

_"Is that a **blue **cat..?"_muttered Shikamaru incredulously.

"Someone help me..." he heard it mutter.

_"And it talks?"_

"Finally some meat!" exclaimed on of the twins excitedly.

"No more nuts and berries!" agreed the other.

"Meat!" squawked the giant chicken

"It looks good..." drooled the depressed looking one.

"Please let me go...I need to use the bathroom..." pleaded the blue cat who was shaking badly.

"Light it!" ordered the goblin man as the chicken held up a stick and lit it. Just as it was about to light the fire, the chicken man suddenly froze in place.

The others looked at the chicken-man strangely. "What's wrong with you? Hurry up!" ordered the goblin.

"That's not happening," spoke up a new voice.

Everyone quickly turned their heads and spotted a young man with a spiky ponytail holding the same pose as Chicken Man.

"You! Kageyama, what are you doing here?" demanded one of the twins.

Shikamaru's eye twitched in annoyance. "Oh come on...not again..." he muttered in disdain.

"We won't let you take our food!" yelled the other twin as the two brandished a sai each and came rushing at Shikamaru.

Suddenly, the chicken man swung his arm hard knocking the twins unconscious. Of course, this was Shikamaru's doing, but they don't know that...yet..

"What the hell is your problem?" demanded the goblin when Chicken man lunged at him and body slammed him out of commission.

"It's not me!" squawked Chicken Man who tried to break free but instead found himself rushing at the last guy who also tried to run but tripped and was also body slammed out of commission.

"You know, even if you ate me by yourself I probably won't be very filling," said the blue cat bluntly but was ignored when Shikamaru made the Chicken Man face him.

Shikamaru then smirked as he made the Chicken pick up a rock, intending to make him knock himself when-

"GIVE US BACK HAPPY YOU BASTARDS!" demanded a new voice a young man with pink spiky hair came jumping in out of no where and sent a flying kick to Chicken man, causing him to go flying into a tree, knocking him out.

"Ice Make: Spike!" yelled another male voice suddenly.

Shikamaru's instincts quickly made him move as a giant ice spike grew out of the ground.

"You've got some nerve trying to eat Happy!" accused a black haired man who was in his shorts for some reason.

_'Aw crap...'_thought Shikamaru in disdain. "It's just one troublesome thing after another..."

"I'll give you troublesome!" roared the pink haired guy as he slammed his fists together. Shikamaru's eyes widened in shock as the guy's fists became engulfed in flames. "Eat this! Fire Dragon Fist!" he yelled as he launched himself at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru quickly jumped high into the air to avoid the attack when he heard a small gasp. He looked down to see Dia's small figure coughing and spluttering from all the smoke and dust that was created. "Oh no! Dia!"

Shikamaru quickly landed in the trees towards where Dia was and grabbed the girl before making a run for it. "Look you've got the wrong guy! I've got nothin' to do with this!" yelled Shikamaru over his shoulder.

Apparently, his words fell on deaf ears as the pink haired guy gave chase. "Oh great now you're kidnapping little girls? You're the worst!" cried the man continuing to spit fire.

"AND YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" retorted Shikamaru in frustration while he dodged.

"SAY THAT TO MY FACE YOU JERK!"

"Natsu! Wait! He saved me! Don't hurt him!" yelled the blue cat known as Happy as it quickly plastered itself to Natsu's face, stopping him in mid air causing him to fall to the ground.

Shikamaru and Dia sweat dropped before they landed on the ground neatly.

"Pineapple-Head did some weird magic to the guys and knocked them out before they could eat me, so don't hurt him!" cried Happy albeit a little too dramatically.

The shinobi's eye twitched in annoyance at being called a Pineapple-Head while Dia covered her mouth to stop herself from giggling.

(Few Seconds Later...)

"Heh-heh! Sorry about trying to beat you up! No hard feelings, ok!" apologized Natsu sheepishly as he patted Shikamaru on the shoulder a few times.

"Troublesome bugger..." muttered Shikamaru under his breath while Dia meanwhile was cuddling Happy.

* * *

"Bout' time you guys got back!" exclaimed the half naked dude from just now. "Oh hey,it's Pineapple-head, Happy told us what happened! No hard feelings?"

"More or less..." replied Shikamaru once again twitching in annoyance. "And for the record, my name is Shikamaru Nara, **not** Pineapple-Head!"

"Well nice to meet you! I'm Lucy Heartfilia!" greeted a blond girl cheerfully. Shikamaru could see behind her the guys from before all tied to a tree, just waking up.

Suddenly, Goblin Guy and the others began to look really, really scared for some reason, which did not go unnoticed by the group. Goblin seemed to be muttering something under his breath as Lucy got closer. "Lu-llaby..." he was all he choked out.

"Lullaby?" repeated the shirtless guy incredulously when at that moment Shikamaru sensed something coming at them at an incredible speed. Happy seemed to notice it too as he barreled through the group while Shikamaru grabbed Dia and jumped out of the way.

"Watch out!" cried the flying cat successfully knocking his friends away from a black shadow that went straight for the tree were the baddies were tied up.

Everyone widened their eyes as they saw the hand grab the tree and pull it forcefully into the ground with the bad guys. Shikamaru was even more in shock as he landed with the girl in his arms. _'That looked a lot like my clan technique_s...''

"What was that?"exclaimed Lucy in shock.

"What happened?"exclaimed Natsu as well.

"No good, I can't sense them anymore..."stated shirtless guy in a grim voice. "Whoever did this is crazy fast..."

"AAH! That was it! That was the weird magic I saw Pineapple-Head do!" exclaimed Happy all of a sudden making everyone stare at the ninja.

Natsu appeared to be glaring as he suddenly began to crack his knuckles. "So it was you huh?" he growled as he began to advance on Shikamaru who backed away, while Dia gripped the boy tightly. "You-!"

Suddenly a fist flew out and bopped Natsu on the head hard. "Don't be an idiot, if it was him, this guy would have hightailed out of here already!" reasoned the shirtless guy.

"WHO'RE YA' CALLIN' AN IDIOT STRIPPER BOY?"

"SAY THAT TO MY FACE, FIRE BREATH!"

Shikamaru and Dia breathed a sigh of relief, before looking at Lucy. "Are they always like this?"

"Unfortunately yes...By the way, if you don't mind me asking, who are you guys?"asked Lucy ignoring her fighting teammates.

"I'm Nara Shikamaru and this is Dia," introduced the shinobi while gesturing to the little girl in his arms who shyly looked at Lucy. "We were on our way to Magnolia Town. Can you help us?"

On hearing the mention of their town the others instantly came running up. "That's where we're from!" exclaimed the two in unison.

"BY the way, this is Natsu and Gray," introduced Lucy bluntly pointing to pink haired guy and shirtless dude respectively before pointing to the smiling blue cat with wings. "And that's Happy."

"You don't say..." muttered Shikamaru under his breath. "Anyhow, I need to see a person called Markarov. Can you take me to him?"

"SURE! We owe you for saving Happy anyway!" exclaimed Natsu, wrapping his arm around Shikamaru's neck in a friendly manner. "LET'S GO!" cried the Salamander running with Shikamaru who flapped in the wind like a banner with Dia still hanging on to him.

Left behind was Happy who sweat dropped, Gray whose eye twitched in annoyance and Lucy who face palmed herself.

* * *

It didn't take long before Shikamaru found himself in Magnolia standing in front of a huge building with a weird symbol similar to the ones he saw printed on Natsu's arm, Lucy's hand and Gray's chest. He slowly let out a long slow whistle in amazement.

"YOSH MINNA! WE'RE BACK!" cried out Natsu who burst through the front doors obnoxiously.

"Natsu! Everyone! Welcome back!" greeted a smiling young woman with white hair.

"Hey Mira!" greeted Lucy cheerfully.

"Yo Mira, we've got someone who wants to see the old man!" announced Gray, jerking his thumb at Shikamaru and Dia who buried her face in Shikamaru's jacket.

"Ara, I'm so sorry, but Markarov is away at a Guild Master meeting," informed the woman, Mirajane, apologetically.

"Brilliant..." muttered Shikamaru sarcastically.

"Guild Master meeting?" asked Lucy quzzically.

"You don't know what that is?" asked Shikamaru incredulously.

"Well, I'm kind of new to this Guild business thing myself," explained Lucy a little sheepishly.

"It's ok," said Mirajane, smiling warmly. "The Guild Master meeting is where all the guild masters gather and share their reports."

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows._ 'Huh, that's almost similar to the Five Kage meetings Tsunade-sama attends...'_

Mirajane suddenly turned to a rather round man sitting nearby. "Reedus, may I borrow your light pen please?" she asked politely.

"Oui," replied Reedus as he handed her a light blue pen with a glowing tip.

"What kind of pen is that?" asked Shikamaru with rare interest.

"This is a Light Pen, it will allow me to write in the air," explained Mira. "Haven't you ever seen one before?"

The chunnin quickly averted his eyes. "Well...let's just say I don't see much of that kind of stuff where I come from..."

Mira blinked at him twice. "Oh..never mind then! Anyway..." she said as she began to write in the air making Shikamaru widen his eyes in fascination. "The top of the world are the 10 Magic council members, connected to the government. Of course, they are the ones that bring order to the world of magic. It's their duty to pass judgement on those who have committed crimes," Mira explained before pointing to the list of Guilds on the third row of the table she drew out.

"Here we have the Guild Master League, the organization of Guild Masters. They carry out orders from the council, keep in close relations with fellow guilds and keep us unified," finished Mira.

"Wow, I had no idea," exclaimed Lucy in fascination while Shikamaru was deep in thought.

_'The system in this world is more similar to my world than I thought. The 10 Magic Council members are like the Daimyos of the 5 Great Shinobi Nations. The Guild Masters and wizard guilds are the 5 Kages and hidden villages...' _thought Shikamaru forming a mind map of his own mentally. _'Which makes the wizards...the shinobi of this world...'_

"It's a tough job keeping our guilds together," explained Mira further.

"Yeah, if we fall apart, all the evil guys will come!" exclaimed Natsu making a scary face which surprised Lucy much to his amusement.

"Exactly," agreed Mira drawing another table listing Dark Guilds. "These guilds don't belong to the League as they are involved in illegal activities and other crimes."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. _'Like Orochimaru and his followers or the Akatsuki...'_

"Anyway, we still need to get Pineapple-Head here to see the old geezer, do you where the meeting is being held Mira?" asked Natsu, gesturing over to Shikamaru

Shikamaru twitched his eye in annoyance. "It's Shikamaru dammit..."

_"Oh Lucy, my love~!"_called a suave looking guy in sunglasses as he sauntered up to the girl and casually placed an arm around her. "How about ditching him and form a tag team of love with me?" he asked flirtatiously. "Your beauty is absolutely blinding. If I weren't wearing my sunglasses I'd definitely be overwhelmed by your_ stunningness~!"_

"Sounds like a plan to me..." replied Lucy sarcastically as she turned away from him, revealing the set of keys she wore on her belt. Shikamaru and the man widened their eyes in surprise and shock respectively_._

Suddenly the man appeared nervous as he started inching away from Lucy. " You're a Celestial Spirit Wizard?" he exclaimed.

"Yep, with the cow and crab and everything,"confirmed Happy eating a fish he swiped earlier.

_"_NO! OH THE CRUELTY OF FATE!" the man exclaimed souding crushed as he did a double take. "I'm sorry Lucy I have to end our relationship forever!" he yelled dramatically.

"When were we even in a relationship, Loki!" asked Lucy in irritation.

Just as the man known as Loki was about to run off, he suddenly spotted Dia peeking from behind Shikamaru. In a flash he was right in front of Dia kneeling to her eye level.

"Why, hello little Cutie-Pie~! What's a cute lil'miss doing, hiding behind some wierdo, here?" he asked in a flirtatious manner.

_'Look who's talking...'_thought Shikamaru in irritation.

Dia squeaked in fear as she quickly buried her face in Shikamaru's flack jacket and hugged him tightly. Shikamaru gently placed a reassuring hand on the girl's head before frowning at the man. "Hora, don't go do troublesome things like scaring little girls. She's too young for you anyhow, you Casanova..."

Upon hearing that, Loki stood up and faced Shikamaru. "Huh, and who are you? Her father?"

"Her **Care-Taker,"**corrected the chunnin keeping Dia behind him.

"Come on Loki, leave the kid alone," scolded Lucy walking up to him which quickly caused him to freak out and run off.

Shikamaru and Lucy sweatdropped heavily. "Just who was that guy?"

"That was Loki, an incorigible flirt if you ask me, I wonder what got into him?"

"Loki has issues with Celestial Spirit Wizards, something about woman troubles," explained Mirajane smiling like there's no tommorrow.

"It figures..." muttered the chunnin and wizard together before Shikamaru turned to Lucy.

"So you're a Celestial Spirit Wizard?"

Lucy smiled and winked as she showed off her ring of keys. "Yep! Pretty cool huh? Why askin'? Are you one too?"

Shikamaru shrugged a bit. "Well, sort off. I only have one silver key," he said as he pulled out Ursa's key from his flack jacket.

Lucy stared at the key before releasing a huge exclamation that freaked Dia out so much she jumped and latched herself on to Shikamaru's head, much to his chagrin.

"NO WAY! IT'S THE KEY OF THE GREAT BEAR, URSA MAJOR! IT'S A RARE FIND FOR A SILVER KEY!" exclaimed Lucy loudly as she snatched key from Shikamaru and looked it over. "How did get a hold of this?"

"Lucky find?" replied Shikamaru's muffled voice under arms which were wrapped around his face.

Suddenly the guild doors burst open to show that Loki had returned and looked more panicked than before. "WE'VE GOT TROUBLE! ERZA'S BACK!"

Shikamaru, Dia and Lucy watched as the atmosphere suddenly got tensed as people began to get scared. "Erza?" Shikamaru and Lucy asked.

"She's our strongest female wizard ever!" said Mira cheerfully as the sounds of heavy footsteps came trampling up to the doors of Fairy Tail.

It was at that moment did Shikamaru sense that he was about to face one of the most troublesome women yet...

"Mendokuse..." muttered the chunnin in disdain.


	3. Off to see the Wizard!

**Chp 3: Off to see the Wizard...!**

All the wizards in Fairy Tail grew tense as they heard the sound of heavy footsteps stomping up to the entrance. Shikamaru, Dia and Lucy swallowed audibly as they began to wonder what kind of wizard this Erza might be.

Slowly, in walks this massive silhouette of a person carrying something heavy, and it was. With a loud bang, an armor-clad red head woman placed a large jeweled fang or horn on the ground. "I have returned, is Master here?" asked the woman with a commanding tone.

"She's pretty!" exclaimed Lucy in surprise while Shikamaru just raised his eyebrows. Dia who had shifted herself to just sitting on his shoulders tilted her head.

"Welcome back, Master's at the usual meeting,"informed Mirajane.

"Is that so?" came the reply from Erza.

"Um, Erza-san? What exactly is that thing?" asked a nearby wizard nervously.

"The horn of a monster I defeated, the locals decorated it and gave it to me as a souvenir,"" replied Erza. "Got a problem?"

"No MA'AM!"

_"She's quite different from what I imagined..."_ whispered Lucy to Shikamaru.

_"She certainly has authority..."_commented the chunnin.

Erza looked around disapprovingly. "All of you!" she said in a stern voice. "I've heard a lot rumors about the problems you've caused while I was away! Master might forgive you but not me! CANA!" Erza called to a bikini clad woman drinking wine from a barrel.

The woman flinched and quickly put down her drink. "How dare you drink in such an undignified matter?" scolded Erza.

"Vistar! Take your dancing outside!" commanded Erza to another guy who was dancing in a skin tight suit.

Shikamaru sighed loudly and rolled his eyes as he slipped his hands into his pocket watching Erza point out everyone's faults. _"Yeesh, it's like I never left home...what a troublesome woman... what is she the discipline master or something?"_

_"That's Erza for you!" _piped up Happy.

_"But despite her sharp tongue, she looks human enough. Is she really that scary?"_ whispered Lucy.

Shikamaru shrugged a little._"Looks can be deceiving..."_

Suddenly Erza looked in their direction, mainly at Happy. "Is Natsu and Gray here?"

_"Aye!"_ replied the cat pointing to the two who were at one point scuffling with each other but now they had their arms around each others shoulder with forced grins although Shikamaru could see that they are visibly sweating buckets.

"H-hey Erza! Natsu and me are getting along fine as usual!" said Gray forcing a cheery voice through clenched teeth.

"AYE!" agreed Natsu, his voice getting higher.

Shikamaru and Lucy immediately cast side-glances at each other. Even despite the obviously facade Gray and Natsu were putting on, Erza seemed to buy it. "Is that so, well I suppose even the best of friends would fight once in a while but I love it when you two get along!"

"Best friends would be a little too much..." muttered Gray.

"Aye..." said Natsu weakly.

"Woah, it's so weird seeing Natsu like this," commented Lucy.

"That's because he got beaten to a pulp when he challenged her once," explained Mira looking up from the doodling she was doing with the light pen.

"Same thing happened Gray when she caught him walking around naked," added another wizard.

"And with Loki when he tried to hit on her," added Cana. "Although it served Loki right."

_'Sounds like almost every woman I know...'_ thought Shikamaru with a dead panned expression on his face.

"Actually, I have a favor to ask of both of you," said Erza getting straight to the point. "On my last job, I heard some rather troubling rumors.. I would usually ask Master's opinion but in this case I'm going to settle it myself, would you two help me?"

Gray and Natsu looked at each other in surprise.

_'Erza's actually asking for help?' 'What's going on?'_ were the whispers going around.

"Natsu, Erza and Gray...this might be Fairy Tail's strongest team yet!" commented Mirajane after giving it some thought. "Also, wouldn't it be a good opportunity to go see Master?"

This last bit caught Erza's attention. "Hmm? Someone has business with Master?"

Mirajane nodded as she walked up to Shikamaru and Dia. "Erza meet...um...forgive me you haven't told me your name yet..."

"It's ok, Mira-san," replied Shikamaru before turning to Erza. "My name is Nara Shikamaru and this child here is Dia. We have to consult Markarov with something urgent, it can't wait."

Suddenly Erza appeared in front of Shikamaru and peered at him closely. Shikamaru leaned back a little but not too much since Dia was on his shoulders. "I-is something wrong?" he asked.

"Hmmm...something about you seems familiar...have we met?" asked Erza curiously.

"Um...no?" replied Shikamaru but at the back of his head he was getting a weird feeling of deja vu.

"Weird, must be my imagination," muttered the woman before glancing up at Dia and smiling at her. "Alright, then you may come along with us!"

Shikamaru blinked a few times. "Oook?"

Erza quickly turned her attention back to Natsu and Gray who were glaring at each other but quickly put on their friendly faces once Erza was facing them. "Get your stuff ready, I'll meet you down at the station by tomorrow morning!" she ordered before picking up her giant horn and stomping off.

The moment she left everyone breathed huge sighs of relief. "So.. tomorrow morning huh?" muttered Shikamaru.

"Oh yeah, Shikamaru do you and Dia have a place to stay for the night?" asked Mirajane out of curiosity.

"If it's alright, you could sleep at my place," offered Lucy smiling.

_"You liiiiike him~!"_ teased Happy popping from behind the girl.

"NOT LIKE THAT, YOU STUPID CAT!" screamed Lucy in protest as she began to chase the cat around the guild.

Shikamaru glanced at Lucy, then at Natsu and Gray who were glaring at each other again before looking back at Lucy. Finally he looked up at Dia who blinked at him behind her bangs and smiled a little. That was when Shikamaru made his decision.

* * *

_**That night...**_

* * *

So as it ended up, Shikamaru picked Lucy's apartment since she was the most sane member and he didn't trust two destructive guys with Dia who was clinging to him all the way.

Looking around the place Shikamaru nodded in approval. "This place isn't too bad, it's not too girly or anything," he commented as he sat at Lucy's table with Dia who sat on his lap as Lucy took out a spare blanket and some pillows from her closet.

"Thanks, sorry you have to sleep on the floor," apologized Lucy as she created a bed of sorts.

"Nah, it's fine I'm used to sleeping on hard surfaces."

"Ok then..is there anything else you need?" asked the girl standing up. "I'm afraid I don't have anything you could wear..."

"He could borrow my clothes," offered Natsu holding out a shirt and boxers while sitting on Lucy's bed with Happy.

"Or mine," offered Gray holding out his own, which were the ones he **was** wearing.

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING IN MY APARTMENT?" screamed Lucy in anger.

"Oh yeah like we're going to trust some weird guy in your apartment," retorted Natsu indignantly.

"_**You**_ two are _**WEIRD GUYS!"**_

Shikamaru leaned on the table and rolled his eyes when a loud sniffling caught everyone's attention. Everyone looked to see Dia quivering and shaking as she began to sniff loudly, her mouth open making some weird whiny noise that people do when they are about to cry.

Everyone immediately tensed when they saw Dia's face go red and ready to cry.

Suddenly Dia threw back her head and began to wail loudly in a high pitch voice.

"Hora, Now you scared the kid!" said Shikamaru disapprovingly covering his ears.

"What did we do?" demanded Natsu and Gray also covering their ears when Lucy clenched her fist and stomped up to them.

**_"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"_** she screamed as she punched the two guys so hard they flew out her open window. **"AND STAY OUT!"** she added slamming her window shut and locking before drawing the curtains.

The moment the noise died down, so did Dia's crying as Lucy walked up to the girl and placed a hand on her head. "It's ok, the scary guys are gone now," she said sweetly when Dia suddenly buried her face in Shikamaru's shoulder.

"Sorry about that," apologized Lucy once more.

"Must be troublesome..."

"It is...On the plus side, at least now you have something to wear!" she said optimistically as she tossed a towel and some clothes to the chunnin. "Why don't you go take a shower while I wash your clothes?"

Shikamaru shrugged as he placed Dia down and got up before making his way to Lucy's bathroom when suddenly he felt a dead weight on his leg. Shikamaru's face faulted when he looked down to see Dia hugging his leg.

"Dia, come on let go of my leg," said the chunnin a little exasperatedly.

"She sure is clingy," commented Lucy.

"Well, Dia's got trust issues with people...A little help?" asked Shikamaru pointing to Dia.

Lucy quickly bent down to Dia's level. "Come on Dia, let big brother Shikamaru go take a shower," she said smiling but Dia shook her head stubbornly and hugged tighter. Shikamaru and Lucy then tried to pry the girl's arms off but the grip she had on the teenager was strong.

Lucy and Shikamaru looked at each other and sighed. They both knew where this was going as they blushed a little and looked down.

* * *

"Mendokuse..." muttered Shikamaru as he sat in the bathtub full of water clad only in boxers while Dia sat quietly in front of him in the tub wearing nothing but a towel looking extremely pleased with herself as she played with a rubber ducky. Around his eyes was a blind-fold Lucy made him wear.

Lucy was in the bathroom too wearing a bikini (just in case) to keep an eye on them while she took a bath in the shower. "Sooo..." Lucy began in an attempt to break the awkward silence. "Are you two siblings?"

"Um...we're...adopted..." lied Shikamaru quickly to avoid any weird stories. "I've been taking of her for a while now..."

"Oh...no wonder you two seem close..."said Lucy stepping out of the shower and sitting by the tub with a bottle of shampoo.

"What are you doing?"

"Handing you the shampoo since you can't see it," replied the girl as she squeezed some into her hand and some onto Shikamaru's. "Excuse me..." she muttered blushing madly as she began to shampoo Shikamaru's head.

"Ah..." he replied softly blushing as well as he began to shampoo Dia's hair after being guided by Lucy. After that it was just awkward silence.

Later that night Lucy sat on her bed curled up in her PJs as she looked at Dia's sleeping figure smiling and curled up close to Shikamaru's own sleeping body. Shikamaru was wearing the set of clothes Natsu left behind while Dia was dressed in one of Lucy's PJ tops.

_'They really do look like siblings,'_she thought to herself as she smiled at them before curling up in her own warm bed to sleep.

* * *

**_The next morning at Magnolia station..._**

* * *

Instead of glaring at each other as Natsu and Gray usually would, these two were giving Shikamaru the stink eye ever since he, Lucy and Dia arrived at the station. Shikamaru and Dia were wearing their clothing from the day before while Lucy was wearing an orange tank-top and blue skirt with a belt which held her keys. In her arms was the ever quivering Plue which took Shikamaru sometime to get used to.

Shikamaru's eye began to twitch uncontrollably in annoyance. "Is there something you want?"

"Lucy, this guy didn't try anything weird on you did he?" asked Gray and Natsu in concern at the same time.

_"I'm standing right here..."_ muttered the chunnin under his breath.

"Wh-what? No way! Shikamaru was a total gentleman unlike a couple of guys I know..."denied Lucy before frowning at the two of them in a disapproving manner making them shut up.

"By the way Lucy, what are you doing here?" asked Happy who sat on a bench nearby.

"It was Mira's idea, she told me to tag along and keep an eye on these guys," she said jerking a thumb at Gray and Natsu who had gone back to glaring at each other out of hatred.

"Sorry, I'm late everyone," apologized a new voice which made Natsu and Gray freeze.

"Erza-sa-...eh?" said Lucy as she stared at the huge pile of luggage piled on a mini wagon behind the armored wizard.

Shikamaru and Dia too stared incredulously at the amount of suitcases Erza had with her. _"You t__hink she packed her apartment in there?" _Shikamaru whispered to Dia who shrugged in reply.

"LET'S GET ALONG WELL TODAY~!" cheered Gray acting all goody with his arm around Natsu.

**_"AYE SIR~!"_**cheered Natsu in his falsetto voice while copying Gray as well.

Erza smiled at them. "Yep getting along sure is the best!" she said before turning to Lucy. "And you are? I believe I saw you yesterday at Fairy Tail."

"I'm Lucy, Mira suggested that I tag along with your group!" replied Lucy smiling at Erza while Shikamaru and Dia glanced over at Gray and Natsu who began to glare at each other behind Erza's back.

"I'm Erza, nice to meet you," said Erza returning the greeting as she gave a brief glance to the two behind her who automatically switched to 'Happy Friends' mode but reverted back to 'Rivals' mode the moment she turned her head back to Lucy. "So _you're_ Lucy, you must be the one who defeated all those guerrilla mercenaries single handedly!"

"There's a ridiculous rumor like that?" exclaimed Lucy as Erza glanced back at the Natsu and Gray who of course switched to 'Happy Friends' mode. This happened a few times making Dia giggle and Shikamaru suppress his smile in amusement.

"Why, hello again. Shikamaru and Dia, was it?"

"Domo,"greeted the chunnin.

"Erza, I have one condition for coming along!" said Natsu suddenly.

"Oh, and what might that be?" asked the woman turning around.

"I want a fight once this is over!"

"Do you have a death wish or something?" demanded Gray incredulously to Natsu.

"It's not gonna be like last time! THIS TIME I'LL DEFINITELY WILL BEAT YOU!" declared the Salamander with a determined look in his eyes. A look that was all too familiar with Shikamaru.

* * *

_**Flash back**_

* * *

_"Just watch Sasuke-teme! It's not gonna be like last time! This time I'll definitely beat you!" declared a 10 year old Naruto in determination to fellow classmate Sasuke Uchiha for what seemed like the hundredth time in front of the entire class._

* * *

The face of Naruto slowly transitioned into Natsu's own determined face making Shikamaru smile inwardly and shake his head. _'Yep...they really are similar...'_

"Alright, I'll take you on that challenge," said Erza calmly.

"ALRIIIIGHT!" cheered Natsu getting pumped. "I'M ALL FIRED UP!"

* * *

_Seconds later..._

* * *

_"Ugh...gonna puke..."_groaned Natsu who looked really blue in his seat as he slumped over.

"Now that's just pathetic..."muttered Shikamaru with a dead panned expression as he leaned on the train window sill with Dia sitting on his lap looking out the window excitedly.

"Natsu has a really bad case of motion sickness, this always happens," explained Gray before glancing at Dia. "So what's the deal with this kid, hasn't she ever been on a train?"

"Dia's been living in a...sheltered lifestyle," explained Shikamaru tweaking the truth once more when Dia suddenly looked up at him and smiled before nuzzling her head in his neck affectionately.

"Awww~!" squealed Lucy with hearts in her eyes.

"Blech..." choked out Natsu who bowled over once more.

"You poor thing, " cooed Erza who was sitting in the middle of Gray and Natsu. "Gray?"

"Yes Ma'am!" squeaked Gray as he quickly shifted to the opposite seat with Lucy, Shikamaru and Dia while Erza placed an arm around Natsu.

"I'll let you rest!" she said sweetly when she suddenly socked Natsu in the gut, knocking him unconscious so that he lay on her lap. The others quickly averted their eyes , pretending not to see while Dia did not notice as she cuddled closer to Shikamaru.

"So what is this job about anyhow?" asked Gray changing the subject.

"Our opponents are the Dark Guild Eisenwald, they intend to do some mischief with some evil magic called Lullaby", explained Erza, which caught the attention of the others.

"Lullaby?" exclaimed Gray and Happy together in surprise.

* * *

After quickly explaining their previous run in with the bad wizards from the other day to Erza...

* * *

"They possibly might have been refugees from that guild, trying to escape," deduced Erza deep in thought. "The shadow that took them must have been from their main forces to prevent any of their plans from being leaked."

"But could it all mean?" asked Lucy.

That was when Erza began to relate how she came across this information while taking a pit stop at a bar on the back from her last job. She overheard a conversation between a group of wizards sitting nearby talking about the Lullaby and a seal and someone called Erigor was mentioned.

"Erigor is the top ace of Eisenwald. He's also called the 'Shinigami' due his infamous reputation as an assassin," explained Erza further. "Normally, assassination requests are banned from wizard guilds but Eisenwald wanted money. As a result they got thrown out by the League 6 years ago, but they still remain in operation for their illegal activities."

"Damn it!" growled the woman banging her fist on Natsu's head but she didn't notice. "If I had realized it sooner I would have ambushed them and interrogate them myself!"

"So whatever this Lullaby is, Eisenwald has got some evil plans for it..."noted Gray.

"Exactly, but I don't think I'll have enough strength on my own to take on a whole guild so that's where you guys come in!"

"Hmph, sounds like fun!" said Gray smiling cockily.

_"I wished I hadn't come..."_squeaked an incredibly nervous Lucy was literally sweating buckets and shaking in fright while Shikamaru sighed.

_"Aa-ah...mendokuse..."_ groaned Shikamaru under his breath.

"By the way, what type of magic do you use Shikamaru?" asked Erza out of curiousity as she took out a lunch basket she was carrying with her and opened it to reveal a whole hoard of sandwiches which she passed about to everyone except Natsu who was still out of it and Happy whom she passed a fish to.

"Shikamaru uses Celestial Spirit Magic like me! but he's only got one key though..." explained Lucy excitedly as she lightly nudged him. "Come on show it!"

The chunnin sighed exasperatedly and removed Ursa's key from his jacket. "The key of the Great Bear, Ursa Major..."

Happy looked at the key before looking up at Shikamaru confused. "Celestial Spirits? But the other day I saw you used Shadow Magic on those bad guys when you saved me!"

Shikamaru tensed when he sensed Erza staring at him. _'Here we go...'_

"AH! Now I remember where I've seen you before!" exclaimed Erza as she suddenly pulled a sword out of hammer-space and jabbed it in the Chunnin's face much to his shock. "I thought I've seen your Pineapple-like hair style! You're a wanted criminal, Kageyama!"

"Hey! Hey! I have a kid on my lap!" protested Shikamaru as Dia hugged him in fright.

"EH? You're a criminal?" exclaimed the rest in shock.

"That child is probably a hostage! Kidnapped to act as your cover!" accused Erza narrowing her eyes, poison dripping off her words. "Despicable! I bet you're trying to assassinate Master!"

"Come on you got it all wrong!" said Shikamaru putting his arms around Dia protectively.

"Release that child!" commanded Erza fiercely. People were already starting to turn their heads to see what commotion was about or running to the next car upon seeing Erza's sword.

"Um...Erza...I think you're scaring Dia..."informed Lucy who was getting freaked out. Erza looked down at the little girl and flinched when she saw Dia go red. Everyone else had already covered their ears. Suddenly Dia opened her and released a high pitched wail as tears came flowing out like fountains from her eyes. Everyone on the train immediately covered their ears to block out the noise.

Fortunately for Shikamaru this was just the distraction he needed. _"Kage Mane no jutsu!"_ he exclaimed forming the appropriate hand-seal.

Suddenly, Shikamaru's shadow came to life as it grew into the other wizards shadows. Dia quickly slid off the older boy's lap as Shikamaru stood up making Happy, Lucy, and Gray stand up too, much to their shock. (Natsu was still unconsious so need to worry about him.)

"This is it! This was he used on those guys the other day!" exclaimed Happy.

"What's happening?" cried Lucy in shock.

"I can't move my body!" yelled Gray trying to struggle to no avail.

"What did you do?" demanded Erza fiercely.

"Capture successful..." said Shikamaru as he raised his left hand which Erza's sword hand mimicked unwillingly as did the others making Erza place her own sword to her throat.

"UWA! MY BODY'S MOVING ON IT'S OWN!" screamed Lucy.

"So what now? You're gonna kill me?" sneered Erza seeing how she has no control over herself.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the woman. "If that was my intention I would have done so already," he retorted calmly.

"You could've have been waiting for the right time to strike!" accused Gray as well.

Now Shikamaru has had it! A vein throbbed on his forehead visibly as he began to lose his cool.

"Look, I have no idea **who** this friggin' Kageyama guy is, ok! I'm just someone who **_apparently _**has some **_unfortunate resemblance_** to this guy! This already troublesome situation is annoying enough! So I'm going to say this now for the umpteenth time. My. Name. Is. _**Shi-ka-ma-ru!"**_ growled the chunnin glaring at Erza before opening and closing his fist, making the woman's sword fall to the ground with a clatter. After finally getting all that out of his system, Shikamaru took a deep breath and finally released his jutsu making everyone collaspe to the ground.

Dia quickly wiped her tears away with her sleeve and tugged at Shikamaru's pants, getting the chunnin's attention. The girl trembled a bit as she looked up at Shikamaru through her bangs.

The chunnin smiled and placed a hand on her hand. "Gomene, Dia. Are you ok?" he asked bending down to her eye level.

Suddenly Dia threw her arms around Shikamaru's neck and hugged him. Erza watched as Shikamaru carried the girl gently and sat back down. There's no way a child taken hostage would be so affectionate to her captor. That was what Erza thought at the back of her mind.

Getting back on her feet, Erza made her sword disappear and sat down. "Alright, fine. I'll trust you...for now...""

"Good to know..." replied Shikamaru while the others simply sat quietly watching the two glare at each other. After that, the rest of the journey continued in awkward silence.

* * *

Finally, the group had reached their destination, Onibas station. Despite what she had said earlier, Erza decided not to take any chances with the Kageyama look-alike. So as it ended up, Shikamaru had his hands tied behind him with Erza hanging on to a trailing rope much to his chagrin and Dia's dismay.

"Ah-ah...mendokuse..." muttered Shikamaru in annoyance.

"Silence!" snapped Erza tugging on the rope, making Shikamaru stumble backwards but was quickly caught by Lucy and Dia.

"No offense Erza, but isn't this a little much?" asked Lucy who unlike the others, still trusted Shikamaru.

"Aye! It's not like he did anything bad!" agreed Happy who shared Lucy's sentiments.

"Nevertheless, I'm not taking any chances!" shot back Erza.

"By the way, where's Natsu?" asked Gray after looking around.

_**SKKRT!**_ was the sound of everyone's feet stopping in their tracks. The train they just got off whistled loudly as it chugged off, giving everyone the best possible clue as they saw it go.

"Oops...my bad..." said Erza as everyone sweatdropped. "I forgot that he was still unconcious..."

Shikamaru sighed loudly. "Will he even be alright? Especially with his allergy to transportation..."

"I'm such a fool!" cried Erza in regret. "Someone please hit me!"

Dia looked at Erza with a little devilish grin as her nails transformed into long claws as she was about to take a step forward when Shikamaru held out his leg in front of her and shook his head vigorously. Dia pouted in disappointment as she made her claws disappear just in time before anyone turned to face them.

* * *

Meanwhile in the train, Natsu was slumped over in his seat feeling worse than before when he heard someone walk up to him.

"Oh? Fairy Tail, huh? So you're a wizard from one of those legal guilds..." said the person with a sneer in his voice.

"Huh?" was what Natsu said when he looked up at the person. Since he was still feeling sick, Natsu's vision was a little blurry but he could definitely make out the distinctive looking pineapple head.

"Shi-Shikamaru?..."

* * *

_**R.F: And the plot thickens! (or some junk like that...)**_


	4. Confusions

**Chp 4: Confusions  
**

"Oh? Fairy Tail, huh? So you're a wizard from one of those legal guilds..." said the person with a sneer in his voice.

"Huh?" was what Natsu said when he looked only to be suddenly kicked in the face. "Sh-shikamaru?" he asked in an unsure voice as the figure before him was blurred.

"But you're not as cracked up as what they say to be! You know what we call you guys? Pests!" spat the man.

Suddenly, Natsu's fists began to fire up as he swung them at the rude stranger who quickly jumped back. "Bastard! Who do y-? AH! It IS you SHIKAMARU! What are you still doing here? and where did you get those clothes?"

The man in front of Natsu frowned in confusion. This man indeed had a pineapple-like hairstyle but his clothing was all white consisting of a simple jacket and pants bordered with sea green."Huh? Who the hell is Shikamaru?" said the man slipping his hands into his pockets. Suddenly a magic circle appeared at his feet and out flew three purplish black shadows which knocked the Salamander off his feet. "Hmph, whatever as long as I- WOAH!"

Suddenly the train screeched to a stop, causing the stranger to lose his balance and stumble forward as a ghastly looking wooden flute with a skull flew out of his white jacket and landed on the ground near Natsu.

* * *

_**Elsewhere...back at Onibas station...**_

* * *

Everyone looked at Erza with dead-panned faces from a distance as they watched a security guard yelling at Erza for pulling the emergency stop lever.**_  
_**

"The woman sure likes to do things at her own pace huh?" commented Shikamaru bluntly with Dia nodding in agreement while Happy sat on her head.

"Aye," agreed Happy as well.

"Quit yappin'..." grumbled Gray as he tugged on the rope attached to Shikamaru lightly, earning a glare from Dia.

"So this is how Fairy Tail members work, huh?..." sighed Lucy in an exasperated voice.

"Not me," insisted Gray who had ironically (and unknowingly) stripped again.

"How about you put on some clothes and then we'll talk?" muttered Shikamaru sarcastically while Lucy quickly covered Dia's eyes before she saw anything. Gray and Shikamaru instantly locked glares with each other, narrowing their eyes.

* * *

Back on the train, a recovered Natsu quickly threw a punch at the stranger who attacked him earlier. "THAT WAS FOR KICKING ME IN THE FACE SHIKAMARU! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

The stranger staggered a little as he got up. "Are you deaf or something? I am not this 'Shikamaru' person, ok? And don't you'll get away with injuring a member of Eisenwald!"

At the mention of the last word, Natsu narrowed his eyes and growled before his fists lit up. "I thought there was something funky about you!** So** you're a member of that trash guild Eisenwald all along, huh? Bet you're a spy or something, Shikamaru!"

Natsu's opponent groaned exasperatedly and slapped his forehead. _'My God, this kid's an idiot...'_

All of a sudden there a slight jingle as the voice announcement came on. _"This emergency break was a false alarm, we will be moving this train soon."_

_'Uh-oh!'_ thought Natsu as he quickly grabbed his stuff getting ready to split but not before turning back to his opponent. "Hey you! We'll finish this fight outside!" demanded the Salamander but it was too late as the train shifted and began to move.

* * *

At that moment, there was the roar of a motor as a small green car came sailing through the air and landed next to the train. Erza sat at the wheel with something that looked like blood pressure strap attached to her wrist. Gray was hanging on like crazy to the roof of the car while Lucy stuck her head out the window. Inside, Shikamaru (still tied up) was being bounced about along with Dia and Happy due to the crazy and reckless driving bumping their heads together hard all at once.

_"Mendokuse! Damn stupid magic transport thingy!"_ grumbled the chunnin loudly.

"NATSU!" called Lucy loudly. Seconds later, Natsu came crashing out a train window looking sick to his stomach.

Shikamaru, Dia and Happy watched through the window as he flew towards the car followed shortly by a loud thud and a chorus of painful yells. Suddenly the car screeched to a stop throwing everyone inside the car about causing Shikamaru to fall towards Dia but he quickly turned to avoid the child. However, while doing so Shikamaru collided with Lucy who got thrown back inside and fell on top of him while Dia and Happy dog-piled on them forcing their bodies together.

Happy lay sprawled across Dia's chest while the girl ended up sitting on Lucy with their eyes all swirly from dizziness. Meanwhile Lucy and Shikamaru found themselves staring into each others eyes, both which have widened a couple of sizes bigger as their faces were a mere inches from each other. To add more fuel to the fire, their lips had accidentally lightly brushed against each other during the commotion, resulting in two glowing scarlet faces.

"Um...Hi..." said Lucy awkwardly while Shikamaru was at a loss for words.

Suddenly, the passenger door flew open causing the four to tumble out_._ A flustered Lucy quickly picked herself up and brushed dirt of her clothes before helping Shikamaru to his feet and brushing her hair behind her ears. The two were still blushing a little as they averted their gaze from the other. Happy and Dia looked at the two before looking at each other in confusion, scratching their heads.

_"Dammit, that hurt Natsu!"_growled Gray rubbing his forehead where he and the Dragon collided.

"Oh Shut up! You guys left me behind!" snapped Natsu angrily.

"That we did, but at least you're ok," said Erza in relief slamming Natsu's head into her armored chest with a loud clang.

Cringing in pain, Natsu's frown didn't leave his face as he straightened himself and rubbed the sore spot on his head.

"Whaddaya' mean, OK? Earlier on the train I was fighting that bastard Pineapple-Head, Shikamaru! And get this, he's a member of that Dark Guild Eisenwald!"

"YOU IDIOT!" cried Erza slapping Natsu's face real hard out of the blue. "EISENWALD IS THE GUILD WE'RE CHASING! WHY DIDN'T YOU CATCH HIM?"

Shikamaru and Dia exchanged incredulous glances with each other. "Gee... I wonder if it has anything to do with fact that **__****I've been** tied up and**_ held captive _**by**_ you guys _**for the**_ past hour?" _**suggested Shikamaru in a loud sarcastic voice.

Erza glared at Shikamaru before slightly blushing and averting her eyes in embarrassment. "Oh yeah..."

"OH! SHIKAMARU, HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET HERE?" exclaimed Natsu in shock once he realized the chunnin's presence.

"He's been with us this whole time, you dolt," pointed out Gray irritably. "Only an idiot like you wouldn't notice."

"SHADDUP! Anyway, if Shikamaru's over HERE," said Natsu, emphasizing the last word by jabbing his finger at said person. "Then WHO THE HELL DID I JUST FOUGHT BACK THERE?" he demanded jabbing a finger in the direction of which the train left in.

At that moment, a thought struck Erza who quickly jumped back onto the four wheeler and attached the magic strap to her wrist once more. "I have a pretty good idea who, if we hurry we might catch up with the train!"

"So what was this Shikamaru-double like?" asked Gray.

Natsu paused to think for a while. "Well he definitely looked like this guy only he dressed weirder..." began the boy jabbing a thumb at Shikamaru whose eye twitched at the comment for the hundredth time . "Oh yeah, but he did have some ugly, wicked looking flute with a three-eyed skull on it..."

"A three-eyed skull?" exclaimed Lucy suddenly in shock.

"What's wrong Lucy?" asked Happy surprised.

"I've heard of that flute...Lullaby... is a Song of Curse...Magic of Death!"

"What?" exclaimed everyone in shock.

"I've read about it in books...One of the forbidden magics is the curse of Death right?"

Erza nodded her head, her expression grim. "It's a type of black magic that slowly saps the life from whoever it is cast upon..."

"But Lullaby is the worst! It used to be just a mere tool for curses but a Dark Wizard known as Zeref turned it into a demon flute! Whoever plays the flute can create a mass genocide in seconds!"

"Then what are we waiting for? GET ON!" commanded Erza causing everyone to scramble on board the vehicle with Gray hanging on to the roof for his dear life as Erza sped off down the bumpy road. "Dammit! We have to hurry! If Erigor gets his hands on the mass killing flute, god knows what he'll do!" she growled under her breath ignoring the screams of her passengers who were getting freaked out by the woman's reckless driving.

However, it thanks to Erza that the group arrived at Kunugi Station, which was the next stop, in no time. The group stopped momentarily to see a huge group of passengers who were forced off the train earlier by members of Eisenwald. From what they overheard, it seems like the group they were chasing after has gone off with the train.

"I don't get it, why train? Wouldn't it be easier by car or something?" wondered Happy out loud.

"True but it's faster by train anyway right?" pointed out Shikamaru bluntly. He was still a little sour after being tossed about in the car AND still being tied up.

"If that's the case, then Eisenwald would be in a big hurry, huh?" suggested Gray who had gotten into the car and once more stripped again.

"PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON!" demanded Lucy when suddenly Erza fired up the car and sped off again causing another round of Chaos in the Car.

* * *

**A few seconds later...**

* * *

The group shortly arrived in a town with Erza speeding dangerously through the streets. "Erza, you're going to fast!" yelled Gray sticking his head out the window.

"We don't have time to slow down! People's lives are at stake here!"

"But what good would it do if you're out of magic? This machine is currently using up yours right?" asked Shikamaru calmly leaning near the window behind Erza's head.

"Then Ill fight with a stick if I have to," came the woman's firm reply as she carried on driving towards the next train stop, Oshibana station. "And besides, I have Natsu and Gray with me!"

Shikamaru didn't say anything but raised his eyebrows as he turned to look at the said Dragon Slayer who was currently half hanging out the car window nauseously with Lucy restraining him. Just then Shikamaru felt Dia clutch at his sleeve making him look down to her shaking a bit in fright. "Daijobu..." he whispered a bit to the girl reassuringly.

It wasn't before did the group arrived at Oshibana station only to find that they were a bit too late as they saw smoke arising out from the top of the tower. The car quickly skidded to another stop as Erza jumped from her seat and ran up to one of the guards.

"What's the situation?" she demanded.

The man barely even had time to fathom what was going on when Erza suddenly punched his lights out. Shikamaru, Dia and Lucy watched incredulously as Erza repeatedly kept doing to the other unfortunate guardsmen who were unable to answer quick enough.

"Not very patient is she?"commented Shikamaru side-glancing Gray who was still hanging on to the rope holding him.

"That's Erza..." replied Gray not even batting an eyelid.

"So is this guy my responsibility?" asked Lucy bluntly referring to a still sick Natsu who was leaning on her support.

Just then Erza came running back from her 'interrogation'. "Eisenwald is still inside, lets go!"

"Matte!" called Shikamaru to Erza who was just about to turn. "Cut me loose."

"No," replied Erza flatly. "Natsu's fight with the Eisenwald member from before may have proven that you and Kageyama are different people but it still doesn't prove that you are really a friend instead of foe."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at Erza. "Look woman, from what I've been hearing so far, this Eisenwald group is going to be a load of trouble. You want me as a prisoner? Fine, I don't care, I've got nowhere to go anyway. But you're going find the situation more troublesome with me tied up."

Erza said nothing as she considered his words before making a sword appear. _**Shing!**_ was the sound of the sword whistling through the air as it slashed the ropes of Shikamaru. The others looked on in surprise as the the chunnin's bonds fell to the ground.

"But Erza-!" Gray was about to say in protest when Erza gave him a look that silenced him.

"I hate to admit it but he does have a point," explained Erza begrudgingly, before suddenly jabbing the sword just inches from Shikamaru who made no emotion. "But mind you, if you dare to flee, I'll label you as an enemy and I **_will_** hunt you down!" she warned before turning and running into the station.

Shkamaru stared after her when he suddenly felt Dia grab his hand. The chunnin looked down at the girl and gave her a reassuring smile before grasping her hand in response.

* * *

Seconds later, the group was already running halfway through the station. Gray and Lucy were running closely behind Erza along with Happy who flew next to Shikamaru who was piggybacking an unconscious Natsu while holding Dia's hand so that she could keep up.

"It seems that the guards went in to confront Eisenwald not too long ago but so far they haven't been heard from since," informed Erza who was in the lead.

"And I think I see why..." added in Shikamaru.

Sure enough, just a little up ahead was a large staircase where the unconscious and badly injured bodies of the said guards were scattered all over.

"They've been wiped out!" exclaimed Happy in shock.

"They were up against a whole guild, Happy, they never stood a chance," said Erza grimly as the group climbed up the stairs and found themselves in the main hall where a surprise awaited them.

A tall skinny man with a scythe chuckled sinisterly prompting the large army of evil looking wizards the snicker as well. Right in front of the group was the guy everyone has been confusing Shikamaru with, Kageyama himself. Shikamaru was standing right behind Erza keeping out of sight but he could see the snide smirk on his look alike's face.

"Woah, that's a lot of wizards..." commented Lucy in shock. Erza tilted her gaze upwards to the tall skinny guy who sat above them by a large window.

"You fiend, you're Erigor aren't you?" demanded Erza angrily while Lucy was trying to get Natsu back on his feet.

Instead of getting the response she wanted, Kageyama narrowed his eyes. "You flies! It's because of you Erigor-sama got mad at me!" he spat.

"Just what are you scoundrels after?" demanded Erza again. "What do you want with Lullaby?"

Erigor snickered at Erza. "You still don't know? What do you think is at this station?" he suggested when he started floating in the air.

Shikamaru stared up in shock. _'He flew?'_

"He's a Wind Magic user!" warned Happy as Erigor landed and squatted on top of the trains broadcasting speakers, giving the group a clue.

"You plan on broadcasting Lullaby?" exclaimed Erza in shock.

Erigor simply smirked as he straightened himself. "Hmm, I wonder just how many onlookers are gathered around here?" he sarcastically wondered out loud. "If you increase the volume, it will resonate through out the whole city. The Melody of Death that is."

Erza glared at Erigor in hatred. "So you **do** plan on killing thousands of innocent people don't you?"

Erigor shrugged indifferently. "It's a purge. A purge of fools who guard their own rights without considering the loss of the same rights of others. Their sin is living without realizing the world isn't just. That is why, the Shinigami is here to take care of them!"

"And you think this is going to get you your 'rights' back? You got kicked out of the League for doing this kind of things in the first place!" yelled Lucy, glaring at the man.

"Silly girl, we don't care about the rights! It's the **power**!" declared Erigor. "The power that allows us to clear the past and rule the futu-!"

"Oh cut the crap will ya'!" interrupted a new voice. The whole dark guild looked on in surprise and shock as a familiar face walked out from behind Erza. Shikamaru glared up at the man. "I'm getting real tired of listening to troublesome idiots like you blab on about 'power'. IN the end, it's always the same spread terror and evil...yada-yada-yada..."

_"Oi, look at that guy!" "He looks like Kageyama!" "No way!" But he looks a little younger though..."_ were the chorus of loud whispers from the enemy army.

A vein throbbed in annoyance on Kageyama's forehead. "ARGH! ENOUGH ALREADY! LET'S JUST GET THEM!" yelled the man slamming his hand on the ground.

Before anyone could react, his shadows came rushing at and emerged from the ground as fists aiming straight for Lucy when suddenly **_BAM!_** there was a rush of fire as Natsu miraculously recovered in the nick of time and dispersed the shadows with his fire.

"Dammit, it's you!" exclaimed Kageyama while Natsu smirked.

"You bet, I knew it was your rotten voice I heard!" replied the Dragon Slayer getting all fired up, literally speaking. "Ooh, and there's a whole bunch of enemies to pummel, this is going to be fun!"

"We're Fairy Tail's strongest team, you guys better watch out!" declared Lucy jabbing a finger at Erigor, who began floating in the air. Shikamaru didn't like the look on his face. Something inside him told him something was up.

"Well then I'll be making my leave! Show them what a Dark Guild is really made off boys!" said Erigor who disappeared in a rush of wind.

"Natsu, Gray," called Erza softly to the two. "Go after him, we'll take care of these guys. So long as you two are working together, you can definitely beat even the 'Shinigami' Erigor!" she said until she realized that the two she was talking to were engaged in a glaring contest. "WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING?"

"AYE!" the two quickly responded in fright before dashing off.

"HEY THEY'RE GOING AFTER ERIGOR-SAMA!" shouted one wizard.

"No problem, I'll take care of them!" declared a dark skinned guys wearing a navy blue jacket with a bee striped hood as he flung his hands upwards creating a bunch of black elastic straps to appear and wrap around a banister on the upper floor allowing the guy to bungee upwards. "I, Rayure, will take them down!"

"Hold up! I'm coming too! I've got a score to settle with one of them!" said Kageyama as a glowing circle appeared beneath him as he sank into a shadow and disappeared.

Shikamaru frowned and was about to go after them when Erza grabbed his shoulder. "Oh no you don't, you're going to help us out here! We can go after them after we take care of these goonies!"

"The three of us against this many?" exclaimed Lucy incredulously.

"Oh please! And what's a bunch of pansies like you gonna do to us?" mocked one of the men cracking his knuckles.

"Hmph, wretches," said Erza as she stuck out a hand creating a red glowing magic circle to appear. In a flash, a magnificent silver sword came flying out and was caught by Erza.

"A magic sword!" said Lucy in awe.

"One more insult to Fairy Tail and I can assure you all will never see the next day again!" warned Erza wielding the sword before her.

"Like we haven't heard that before!" retorted one of the men as the army began their attack. "We've got our own magic swords!" he said as the men came pouncing on Erza.

**_SHING! SHING! _**In a flash, Erza swung her sword taking down the whole lot in seconds before she made a great leap and took down another large group of men in no time.

"You bitch, eat this!" cried another Eisenwald member as he and two others created a few magic circles and blasted a bright stream of light at Erza who jumped high into the air to dodge making another two magic circles appear by her side. In another bright flash, the sword in her hands immediately transformed into a large spear much to the shock of everyone, including her own teammates.

In two swings, Erza took down another two large groups before her spear disappeared and became a pair of swords this time.

"I've never seen anyone Requip so quickly!" commented one of the members loudly.

Shikamaru, Dia and Lucy turned to Happy who was hovering in the air next to them. "Requip?" echoed Lucy curiously.

"It's sort of like your Celestial Magic Lucy!" replied Happy. "Requip magic allows the user to store weapons in an alternate dimensional space and summon them when needed!"

_'Well that explains how that guy managed to pull weapons from the air..."_thought Shikamaru recalling his fight with the bandit from a few days before. _'I bet Tenten would love to learn this ability...'_

Suddenly an evil smirk came on Happy's face. "Erza's only getting warmed up!"

Lucy reached for her key pouch and pulled out a golden key with a crab motif. "Well then, I guess I should fight too!" she declared as she spun the key in her hand. _**"Gate of the Crab I open thee!"**_she announced before jabbing the key into the ground. _**"CANCER!"**_ she called as a magic circle suddenly appeared.

Shikamaru watched in shock as a figure of light grew out of it which dissipated to reveal two pairs of long , pointy scissors that resembled crab claws which were quickly caught by a funky looking man with crab legs sticking out of back with a super crazy crab hair style. His sunglasses gleamed as he was softly muttering his own jazzy rhythm.

_"Cancer~..!" _he said as he brandished his scissors with a flourish.

"So it's a fight this time-ebi?" asked Cancer to Lucy.

Shikamaru and Dia looked at each other before looking at the crab man. _'Ebi?'_

Lucy smirked as she folded her arms. "Cut this fight short, would you please?" she asked in a sneaky sweet voice.

_"YOU WITH THE FREAKISH HAIRDO! WILL GET YOU GOOD TOO!" _declared the hoard of men who flying at at Cancer who suddenly turned and jumped at them. In a quick flurry of scissor snips, Cancer appeared behind the men with his arms and scissors crossed in front of him.

_"Ebi," _was all he said when suddenly all the men's weapons began to fall apart they had been cleanly cut to pieces. But that wasn't the only thing that got cut.

_"OUR HAIR!" _cried some of the guys in despair as their hands felt the shiny surfaces of their new bald heads watching tearfully as pieces of their hair floated about them.

* * *

Shikamaru smirked as he looked at the large group in front of him. By his side was Dia who made no emotion on her face.

"Looks like it's our turn. Time to see if this works!_" _he said as he whipped out his own Celestial Key and swung it in the air. "_**Gate of the Great Bear, I open thee! URSA MAJOR!**_" Shikamaru cried as he unlocked a magic circle in front of him.

There was a great roar as the two storey high, armored bear emerged from the circle with his claws a gleaming."About time you summoned me kid!'

Shikamaru smiled a bit at the bear as he stood beside him while Dia stood on the other side. "Sorry Uncle, I was tied up, literally."

"No matter, let's get down to business shall we?" suggested Ursa as he gave a great roar and went charging head first, barreling through the men easily while slashing at another group.

Shikamaru ran forward, whipping out his trench knives just in time to block a couple of swords before high kicking someone in the face. Erza watched Shikamaru, slightly impressed with his fighting skills while Lucy was watching Ursa the bear in awe with sparkles in her eyes. "It really is him! URSA THE GREAT BEAR!" she squealed excitedly while Happy sighed and shook his head.

Suddenly, Lucy and Happy saw another large group sailing through the air heading straight for Dia who had her back turned. "OH NO DIA-CHAN! Watch out!" she screamed alerting Erza, Shikamaru and Ursa who snapped their heads around from their fights.

At that moment, Dia turned around to see the group coming at her.

There was a rush of wind circling around her as the ground at her feet glowed with a bright pink magic circle. Dia's dress and long hair fluttered about when a rush of wind lifted up her fringe which curtained her eyes revealing them for the first time.

The Fairy Tail wizards and Shikamaru gasped as they saw that the child's eyes were not that of a human's at all. They were bright pink with slitted pupils, the eyes of a beast.


End file.
